CEO Tim Cook reportedly held an all-hands Town Hall meeting last week to address the state of the Apple with employees. Subjects covered were said to include employee perks, production from supply chain to sales, the retail stores, the competitive landscape with Google's Android, and opportunities in China. 9to5Mac's ace reported, Mark Gurman, has a full rundown. Here's a highlight from the competitive part:

Cook discussed iOS’s integrated, reliable experience versus Android’s fragmentation with a plethora of devices. [..] Cook also noted that Android is about marketshare with its range of devices and low pricing, while iPhone and iPad products are about experience, top hardware and software quality, and, most importantly, actual usage by customers.

No phone hardware, software, or service is perfect. Android's choice of devices is a huge selling point for some, a huge pain point for others. Google's been iterating Android at a fairly brisk pace and while things iOS users don't like about it, including how interface works, are still issues, it's not safe to assume that'll always be the case.

That's why Apple's strategy for beating Android can't rely on poor user experience from Google. It has to rely on better software and services from Apple. Otherwise it's outside Apple's control. Based on how much passion Cook expresses when he discusses everything from the stairs at an Apple Store to the unibody on MacBook to the way they build the iPad mini, he knows that better than anyone. They just have to continually execute on it.

Reader comments

tim cook is slowly killing apple with that mind frame. i feel like steve would have saw it was time for a total os change. and stop saying ppl dont like change because im 1 billion percent sure everyone will go crazy in a good way if apple finally gives the ui a face lift. apple has been selling the same phone for 7 years with a new app here and there. get mad if u want but its true. the iphone 4 was the closest thing to innovation sense the phone was announced in 2007

I can't see anything Cook has done that's different than what Jobs would have done. Most people have no idea who made what decision over the last couple of years and routinely miss-credit things between the two of them.

"Google's been iterating Android at a fairly quickly and while things iOS users don't like about it, including how interface works, are still issues, how much longer will that be the case?" I think you're saying that soon android will have a UI so pleasing that iOS users might consider jumping ship when it's time to upgrade their device. I don't think that's true though because in the end it's the apps that matter, and how they look and feel and behave on each platform that will be more enticing than the operating system itself. Nobody buys Windows for how pretty it is when nothing is running.

I'm not saying Google will catch up on interface compositing, rendering, etc. this year, next year, or who knows what year. I'm saying it's smart to assume they will and compete on them doing it now, and make sure that even when/if someone catches up, you're already ahead of them.

I agree completely, if they don't really get there act together with the interaction between iOS and the cloud they are going to be in a very bad spot going forward, regardless of hardware. In the same breathe, I feel like we've been talking about this for years, so why should we think it's going to change now?

Re: "Android's choice of devices is a huge selling point for some, a huge pain point for others."

Choice? You either choose a Samsung Galaxy or a device from one of Samsung's Android hardware competitors. None of which is generating enough revenue to sustain their Android hardware business.

And why not? Because people choose the best alternative. Why would you choose an inferior Android phone if it's offered at the same price? Because there's less un-removable spamware? Because you're a sucker for the "big screen" fad? Because Samsung is "your father's smartphone"? Who knows.

Consumers choose the best alternative that is available to them. If all you can get on your carrier are Android smartphone, then you get the Galaxy. Of course, in the US, the major carriers also carry iPhone. Therefore, choosing the best alternative means choosing iPhone. And that's why 84% of AT&T's smartphone sales were iPhones.

If Apple does a 4.8 in screen while making the phone thinner AND increasing the battery capacity and battery life (ala Razr Maxx HD), that would be improvement enough for me. I can't see them doing a major overhaul of the OS guts, but perhaps they may be considering some sort of launcher options or home screen skins. Something to make iOS appear different while still pretty much running the same reliable way.